1. Scope of Invention
This invention is direct to boat lift apparatus and more particularly to a portable boat lift which will facilitate lifting a boat from a boat trailer and storing the boat in that situation while the trailer is serviced or otherwise removed or the boat hull is repaired.
2. Prior Art
The vast majority of boats under a length of about 26xe2x80x2 are stored and transported on conventional boat trailers which include an elongated support bed having various boat cradle attachments particularly customized for the configuration and length of the hull of the boat. The boat trailer has an elongated tongue having a distal socket or cup which is connectable to a tow hitch ball attached to the frame of a tow vehicle. The normal means for removing the boat is by backing the boat trailer into the water at a boat ramp and then simply floating or launching the boat from the boat trailer.
The repeated submersion of the boat trailer, especially in contaminated and salt-water environments, will cause rapid deterioration of various components of the boat trailer, including electrical connections and writing and wheel bearings and various other pivotal members of the boat trailer itself. In order to service the boat trailer having one or more of these maintenance items requiring attention is typically done with the boat and the weight thereof remaining atop the boat trailer. The repairs and maintenance to the boat trailer are thus made quite a bit more difficult than if the boat were to be removed completely from the boat trailer.
Additionally, a proud boat owner is regularly cleaning and waxing the exterior boat surface and servicing engine components. With the boat resting atop the boat trailer, attending to the exterior needs of the lower hull of the boat is quite difficult.
A number of prior art apparatus are known to applicant which are generally directed to portable watercraft and boat lift mechanisms, some of which may be utilized to lift the boat from the trailer for either of these maintenance purposes for the boat and/or the boat trailer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,281,077 to Phillips
U.S. Pat. No. 3,697,048 to Sarno
U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,378 to Raymond
U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,124 to Pavlescak
U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,347 to Williams, et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,327 to Porter
However, these above prior art teachings are cumbersome to deploy, expensive to manufacture and purchase and may require additional or enhanced structural features of the boat to make them compatible.
The present invention teaches a portable boat lift mechanism which, in combination with conventional stem or aft support of the hull, will easily lift the boat from a boat trailer and allow the trailer to be removed leaving the boat supported by the boat lift and the rigid aft support members. By taking advantage of the bow lift or towing eye of the trailerable boat, no further strengthening or boat attachments are required to utilize the present invention.
This invention is directed to a portable boat lift for removal of a boat from a boat trailer comprising two elongated free-standing upright frame members and an elongated crossmember which is pivotally connectable at one end thereof to one selected aperture of one of the frame members. The crossmember includes a bow eye engaging clevis adapted for lifting engagement with a bow eye of the boat. The other frame member includes a winch with cable connectable to the other end of the crossmember. When the frame members are placed one on either side of the boat trailer adjacent the bow of the boat with the crossmember is pivotally connected to one frame member, the clevis is connected to the bow eye, and rigid support members are placed beneath the aft end of the boat, the winch will raise the boat from the trailer.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a portable boat lift, which is easily useable by one person for the removal of a boat from a boat trailer.
It is another object of this invention to provide a portable boat lift which is inexpensive to manufacture and may be utilized on a broad range of trailerable boat sizes and shapes to lift the boat from the boat trailer.
In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.